The question this prototype seeks to answer is "what information do we need to provide teachers with so that they understand where their students are struggling". Seeing a series of problems that all include the same skill can teach by example to demonstrate what the skill is, in the context of exam questions. download the PDF
This display is a class-wide display describing how many students have demonstrated proficiency in a particular skill area. Teachers can use this information to determine if the students need more exposure, or a different type of instruction. This interface would be used by teachers to determine what areas the class is struggling in.
They can then analyze what particular situations their students struggle in, and what situations the skill makes sense to students. The number of problems encountered, similar to the number of errors in solving problems in the tutor, allows teachers to gauge what course of action might be best, and to inform about previous experience on a topic.
- If 30/32 students master a skill within a small number of problems, then it informs the teacher that previous instruction has been a success.
- If students are not demonstrating proficiency, the number of problems encountered can inform remedies.
- If students have encountered a large number of problems in a skill, yet many have not mastered it, then the teacher may choose to investigate alternative methods of teaching or address the class for clarification.
If few students have mastered a skill, but the number of problems encountered is not alarmingly large, then the teacher can consider whether the subject has been addressed in class, and make the judgment whether it is reasonable.
By keeping the data available to teachers, it puts their students' performance in terms that they are familiar with, and know how to make inferences from. The Expectation field is to allow teachers to set expectations for students based on class curriculum. This will help weight skills by whether students should be familiar or have mastered a skill at a particular point.
Assumptions
- Teachers will first want to identify what skills the most students are struggling with before they question what the skill means.
- Teachers will want to see the problems that address that skill in order to better understand it.
- There is value in seeing what problems pertaining to a skill the students missed or got correct
- By comparing situations in which the students were able to use the skill, and situations when they were not able to
- Each skill must have more than two problems relating to them in order for this reporting type to provide valuable information.
- The skills, with their titles, can be identified by examining the context in exam questions.